He said the normal operations may not resume for 6 to 12 months. And repairs could cost as much as $5 million dollars. Plus sludge that would normally be processed in the biosolids building has to be sent to other communities, which could cost $1 million on its own, according to Bennett.

He went on to say that residents will not be impacted by this and that much of the repair costs should covered by insurance that is provided by the League of Minnesota Cities, but the city’s liability is yet to be determined, as the League is still investigating the cause of the fire.

The local emergency was declared by a 6-0 vote of the City Council to expedite bringing in clean up crews and getting ready for repairs.